The empty glass building at Star Plaza on Playhouse Square soon will help Cleveland to look, act and feel more like the travel destination it is becoming.
By spring 2000, the expected opening date for Cleveland's newest visitor center, the 1,000-square-foot building of Star Plaza will be a giant, flashing invitation to the Playhouse Square area, and a new advertising vehicle for Cleveland. The one-stop visitors information center and ticket outlet is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, Playhouse Square Center and the Cleveland Cultural Coalition.
The visitors center at Star Plaza next year will offer event tickets, excerpts from local arts performances, laser light shows, travel counselors, video clips, live broadcasts and souvenirs, including Cleveland-themed clothing, according to David Gilbert, director of community affairs for the convention and visitors bureau. Visitors also will be able to get their morning java from a small coffee shop operated by the nearby Wyndham Hotel, Mr. Gilbert said.
'Tourism is one of Cleveland's largest and most influential industries, and it's growing,' Mr. Gilbert said. 'We identified three main areas of high visitor concentration: the Flats, Playhouse Square and the lakefront. In 1994, we had 4.4 million visitors. In 1998, there were 7.7 million visitors from leisure, business and convention travel, a 40% increase. They spent about $2.3 billion in Cuyahoga County alone, supporting 55,000 jobs.'
Mr. Gilbert said the convention and visitors bureau about a year and a half ago developed the partnership that will run the visitors center, which will be managed by the bureau. He declined to disclose the project's cost.
'Playhouse Square will maintain the property,' Mr. Gilbert said. 'The Cultural Coalition will manage the ticket sales process. They represent dozens of large and small organizations and help them get their tickets out.'
He said the new visitors cent
er will be 'more elaborate than our first full-service center' at 1170 Old River Road on the east bank of the Flats. That center has attracted about 40,000 visitors from 55 countries, he said.
The hours of the Star Plaza visitors center have not yet been determined, but the center will be open nearly every day, Mr. Gilbert said.
'We want Star Plaza to serve as the central hub for Advantix and cultural tickets, with same-day, half-price sales on cultural tickets,' Mr. Gilbert said. 'The idea is that someone should be able to walk in and find out what's going on in Greater Cleveland and get a ticket for it. It will be like TKTS in Times Square (in New York), where you can purchase all types of tickets.'
He said the new center will 'create a great synergy, not just to provide information, but also to give greater access to cultural ticketing. We really have something special. The system will be linked with all downtown hotels, as well as with some in the suburbs, and for a fee, tickets can be delivered within a limited range.'
Mr. Gilbert said the convention and visitors bureau's goal is to build another visitor center somewhere on the lakefront. However, the organization has not established a timeframe for doing that, he said.